The present invention relates to a new and distinctive soybean cultivar, designated UA Mulberry. All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possesses the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include but are not limited to higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, altered fatty acid profile, abiotic stress tolerance, improvements in compositional traits, and better agronomic quality.
These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing and distribution, can take from six to twelve years from the time the first cross is made. Therefore, development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.
Soybean (Glycine max), is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of soybean plant breeding is to develop stable, high yielding soybean cultivars that are agronomically sound. The reasons for this goal are to maximize the amount of grain produced on the land used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplish this goal, the soybean breeder must select and develop soybean plants that have the traits that result in superior varieties.
The soybean is the world's leading source of vegetable oil and protein meal. The oil extracted from soybeans is used for cooking oil, margarine, and salad dressings. Soybean oil is composed of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has a typical composition of 11% palmitic, 4% stearic, 25% oleic, 50% linoleic, and 9% linolenic fatty acid content (“Economic Implications of Modified Soybean Traits Summary Report,” Iowa Soybean Promotion Board and American Soybean Association Special Report 92S (May 1990)). Changes in fatty acid composition for improved oxidative stability and nutrition are constantly sought after. Industrial uses of soybean oil, which is subjected to further processing, include ingredients for paints, plastics, fibers, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants, and biodiesel fuel. Soybean oil may be split, inter-esterified, sulfurized, epoxidized, polymerized, ethoxylated, or cleaved. Designing and producing soybean oil derivatives with improved functionality and improved oliochemistry is a rapidly growing field. The typical mixture of triglycerides is usually split and separated into pure fatty acids, which are then combined with petroleum-derived alcohols or acids, nitrogen, sulfonates, chlorine, or with fatty alcohols derived from fats and oils to produce the desired type of oil or fat.
Vegetable soybean, referred as ‘maodou’ in China and ‘edamame’ in Japan, is well known and consumed as a vegetable or snack in Asia for its nutritional value and health benefits. Vegetable soybean is harvested when pods are full but the seeds are immature, and has larger seeds, brighter pods, smoother texture, and sweeter flavor than commodity soybeans. Vegetable soybean seed contains 10 to 14% protein and 5 to 7% lipids on fresh weight basis and is also rich in amino acids (including eight essential amino acids that are not produced by humans), dietary fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, isoflavones, and vitamins A, B, and C. The most important flavor components for edamame are sweetness and savor. The sweet taste is primarily determined by sucrose content and the savory taste by amino acids, including glutamic acid. These seed compositional traits are controlled by the genetic make-up of particular cultivars and affected by environmental conditions. Many management practices also influence flavor, such as variety selection, fertilizer application, planting time and density, irrigation, harvest procedures, and processing conditions. Quality characteristics also vary with variety, time of harvesting, crop growth stage, and environment. Timing of harvest is a critical factor in determining consumer acceptability and marketability of fresh vegetable soybeans. The optimum time for harvesting fresh vegetable soybean to achieve the best product quality with maximum yield is a function of a dynamic relationship between maturity, yield, and quality parameters.
Most American soybean varieties are not desirable for vegetable soybean production due to their limitations in physical, chemical, or nutritional properties. There is a need to introduce, evaluate, and characterize vegetable soybean cultivars for breeding new and improved U.S. vegetable soybean cultivars.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification.